ISTOCK/KARENFOLEYPHOTOGRAPHY [Here are some wise words from former Portlander/current Denver resident and verrry funny comedian Andie Main that she wrote for us in 2016—and yet still hold true today!—eds] Tips for Surviving Your Racist Family Thanksgiving 1) Steel your nerves in the car before entering the house by watching the opening scene of Saving Private […]
Comedy
Posted inComedy
Q&A: Comedian Niles Abston On Blowing Up in Quarantine, His Dave Chappelle Joke, and His First Headliner Tour
Niles Abston Kevin Plachy Comedian Niles Abston has been steadily making a name for himself as one to watch. His debut special, GIRLS DON’T TWERK TO JOKES, was filmed on February 15, 2020 in front of 100-plus people at a house in Van Nuys, CA. Overflowing with a sharp wit, it was not just his […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
Scary-Funny Improv Show Murder Mystery Machine Is “Scooby-Doo Meets Saw”
Andrew Jankowski Sarah Michelle Gellar fans who missed Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the Musical’s latest run at the Funhouse Lounge, should consider attending the venue’s next installment of their improv pop culture spoof series. Billed as “Scooby-Doo meets Saw,” Murder Mystery Machine takes Scoob and the gang and plops them wherever the audience chooses, solving […]
Posted inComedy
Mercury Tales of Horror: The Mini-Mall Dentist
T. ROWLANDSON [Happy pre-Halloween! All week long the Mercury will be publishing classic tales of local Halloween horror from our archives, as well as brand spankin’ new (and creeeeepy) pieces… this one is from our 2017 special feature “The Tell-Tale Tooth: True Tales of Dental Horror.”—eds] It started in a mini-mall. Dr. Nick had a […]
Posted inComedy
Ghost Busted: The Mercury Uses Science to Expose Portland’s Real-est and Fakiest Ghosts!
ILLUSTRATION BY MICHELLE MRUK [Happy pre-Halloween! All week long the Mercury will be publishing classic tales of local Halloween horror from our archives, as well as brand spankin’ new (and creepy) pieces… this one is from our 2019 special feature in which we investigated Portland’s most terrifying places.—eds] Portland is home to many so-called “haunted” […]
Posted inComedy
Mercury Tales of Horror: Chitter, Chatter… What’s the Matter?
Jess Garten [Happy pre-Halloween! All week long the Mercury will be publishing classic tales of local Halloween horror from our archives, as well as brand spankin’ new (and creeeeepy) pieces… this one is from our 2017 special feature “The Tell-Tale Tooth: True Tales of Dental Horror.”—eds] My family had a thing about discarded body parts. […]
Posted inComedy
Which Mall Is More Haunted: Mall 205 or Lloyd Center?
Campy Draper [Happy pre-Halloween! All week long the Mercury will be publishing classic tales of local Halloween horror from our archives, as well as brand spankin’ new (and creeeepy) pieces… such as this one!—eds] Looking down on the empty ice rink, an irrational fear grips me. Tears I can’t explain run down my cheeks. Below, […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
Comedian Jacqueline Novak Brings One-Woman Show to Portland: “The most highbrow show about blowjobs you’ll ever see!”
Comedian Jacqueline Novak performing her one-woman show, Get On Your Knees. Courtesy of Jacqueline Novak When asked to give a quick summary of her one-woman show Get On Your Knees, comedian Jacqueline Novak offers up her marketing tagline: “The most highbrow show about blowjobs you’ll ever see!” It’s not really about blowjobs—or at least, not […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
Q&A: Siren Theater’s A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Play! Creator-Director Shelley McLendon on Making Horror Funny
Performers rehearsing for The Siren’s Nightmare on Elm Street: The Play!. Courtesy of Shelley McLendon With the Halloween season now upon us, the Siren Theater is putting on another one of their parody shows that is as spooky as it is silly. A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Play! is the brainchild of creator-director Shelley […]
Posted inComedy
Q&A: Comedian Alex Falcone Returns to Portland to Record His First Comedy Album and Talk About His Great Wife
Alex Falcone It was November 2019 when we said a fond goodbye to Portland comedian Alex Falcone, who after winning Portland’s Funniest Person 2018, and becoming a featured performer on Portlandia, as well as an occasional contributor to this publication, moved to Los Angeles to build on his already promising career. He also got married […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
An Oregon Christian Summer Camp Gets Skewered in Hilarious Stage Show Wild Wild Christian
Simone McAlonen reads her own adolescent diary entries about attending a Christian summer camp in Wild Wild Christian. Adrian Aguilar Update, 10/19: Wild Wild Christian is back in Portland for one night only, this Saturday, October 23 at 9:30 pm at the Curious Comedy Theater. Get your tickets here. Original story: Like a lot of […]
Posted inComedy
TONIGHT! (And Through Saturday!) Don’t Miss the Hilarious Outdoor Comedy Spectacular!
Live comedy is BACK, laugh-lovers! And just in time for summer, at a fun outdoor picnic-style venue! Coming at ya TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY, June 10-12, don’t miss the Rose City Rollers and Mercury‘s LIVE OUTDOOR COMEDY SPECTACULAR, featuring a hot-shit lineup of excellent local and nationally recognized comedians, including… • DERRICK BROWN (World famous poet, comedian, […]